Radio, Become a Ham, Part 3

Hello, Frank here.

I hope everybody enjoyed Ohm's Law. I enjoy Ohm's Law a whole lot more than I enjoy some of our current laws, but that is a different post, on another day, at a different time.

Today what I am going to talk about will be coming out of The No-Nonsense,Technician Class License Study Guide. Most posts in the near future will also be coming out of this study guide. Last time we talked about Ohm's Law. Well, Ohm's Law is presented on page 6 of the study guide. I am going to go back and cover page 5. On page 5 is electrical principals. Here in the guide this fellow starts off with voltage, amperage and current. What I didn't talk about last time was direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC).

DC current is what you get from a battery. It doesn't make any difference - little battery, big battery - they're all direct current. Your car makes it's own direct current. That is why you go in somebody's house or their shack, and you see a lot of cool radios, most of them operate off of 12 volts DC, or to be more precise, 13.8 volts DC. But, remember, last time - your car has

a 12 volt battery. While you are driving down the road it produces 13.8 volts which keeps your battery charged while you're using all the cool stuff like head lights, radios, electric windows - all the stuff in your car that uses electricity. So that's why, CB radios, ham radios and items of this nature operate off of 13.8 volts. 

Okay, getting back to the real subject. Alternating current or AC is the kind of electricity that your house operates off of. Most houses in this country operate somewhere between 110-120 volts AC. It's a voltage that goes up and down and up and down like waves on an ocean. Half of the voltage is on the top side of zero and half of the voltage in on the bottom side of zero. This is AC.

Also in this section an amp meter and a volt meter were brought up. In the modern world today, the meter used is called a multimeter. It measures voltage, amperage, resistance or, get ready, ohms. Some of the really fancy ones measure other stuff, you know, like temperature. But I find the probes taste really nasty when I am measuring my temperature. A little humor there. Please remember that any time you are measuring electricity, remember, that it can do you bodily harm. This is not a joke. You need to pay attention to what you are doing. Don't be standing in a bathtub full of water. House current or voltage CAN KILL YOU. Take it very seriously.

Okay. So how do you use a multimeter? I'm afraid I can't show you how to use a multimeter on a blog. But I can direct you to a couple of YouTube videos and another handy little chart with a video - How to Use a Multimeter. One of the presenters only recommends a digital multimeter, which frankly, that's me speaking, is probably a little bit easier to use. But I am from the old school and I was trained how to use a multimeter before they had digital and that is what I still use today. But that's part of the system of choice.

 

Watch the videos, get over the fact that a couple of these guys are consumed with themselves, and try to listen to the data. As with lots of things, if you don't know what you are doing, don't do it. They will talk about AC, DC, resistance, I don't worry too much about amperage, and you measure the first three mentioned above with the probes in the same holes all the time. 

There is good advice in the videos - start with the higher setting. An example, the wall socket in your house is around 115 volts AC. If you have your meter set to DC or resistance, which is ohms, and you stick the two probes in your wall outlet, then it will be time to go down to the store and buy another meter. If you have your meter set on AC, and you have it on, let's say, 25 volts and you stick it into a known source of 115 volts AC, then you will be making that trip again. Since you know your house voltage is around 115 VAC and you set your meter for 500 VAC, then your meter will only move slightly. If your next setting is 250 VAC then your meter will move about half way. I hope you follow my drift here. The same thing applies to volts DC. Start with a higher meter reading and work your way down. Measuring resistance is an entirely different ballgame. The power needed to measure resistance, or ohms, is from an internal battery in the meter. Most people use an ohm meter to just check for continuity. Continuity means that you have a complete line and there are no breaks in the circuit. 

Okay. Watch the videos. Most of you will probably purchase a digital multimeter. Put the black probe in the common port or hole, stick the red probe in the voltage port or hole, set your meter for at least 250 volts AC. Now there is no positive or negative with AC. Go over to an outlet in your kitchen so you won't have to bend over. Stick one probe in the little slot and one probe in the big slot. You should have a reading on your meter. 

Now this advice is only if you feel comfortable doing what you are doing. Reread the above paragraph again, watch the videos. But if you don't feel comfortable, don't do it. If you have a friend or neighbor or cousin Billy Bob, and any of them know how to use a multimeter, ask them to show you. Just remember that you need to have your meter in the correct mode. 

There is AC, DC, resistance or ohms - give it a try. Or you can take a flashlight battery out of your flashlight. The bottom is negative, the top is positive. Set your meter for DC voltage. By the way, all DC batteries that are not rechargeable AA, AAA, C and D are all 1.5 volts. In the

rechargeable version is 1.2 volts. Let's say it's a regular non-rechargeable battery. You have the black probe on the bottom which is negative and the red probe on top which is positive and your battery is healthy, you should get a 1.5 reading. Now just for fun, lay this battery down on it's side, it will still measure 1.5 volts. Put another battery on top of the first battery. Now put the black probe on the bottom of the first battery and the red probe on the top of the second battery, make sure they are connecting in the middle and you should have a reading of 3.0 volts DC. Wa-la! You have just made a series circuit. When you put batteries in series, that's negative to positive to negative to positive, then the voltage increases with each additional battery. But the current or amperage stays the same. We'll talk much more about a series circuit and a parallel circuit in a future post.

Okay. Last time, we talked about some formulas - P = E x I; E = I x R. Now you can measure E = voltage, R = resistance, and now you can see these things in front of you. Knowing how to use a multimeter is critical if you're going to set up your own radio systems or, for that matter, change a light switch in your house. A word of caution. NEVER measure resistance on a live circuit. Live means it has power applied to it. Hopefully these little things help. Again, watch the videos and the other presentation. Your first multimeter should not cost over about $10.00. In my lifetime,

I have had two multimeters. Both Radio Shack, both analog, both inexpensive. The first one I used for probably 30 years and it finally just died. I bought another one just like it. I've had people give me digital multimeters as gifts and I wish they would stop.

Next time we're going to talk about the metric system. No big deal. Four or five things to learn here. Enjoy life. Get you a multimeter. Pay attention to the settings and try not to fry it. And if you really want to impress your friends when they come over, get the old type with the dial across the front, because the young guys won't know how to read it. Now where did I put my dial-up telephone??

Be safe. Time to go feed.

We'll talk more later. 73, Frank

Radio - Become a Ham

Hello, Frank here.

This is going to be a short post with a lot of entry level information. There are three licenses in amateur radio, which is also called ham radio. The

first license is the technician, the next level up is the general, and the top and final level, is the extra. As you look through some of the information I am about to provide, you will find other titles for operators. Well, these are old titles that have been grandfathered in. Currently there are only the three mentioned above. Also, you are not required to know morse code for any current level of ham radio license. NO MORSE CODE REQUIRED.

First I am going to talk learning styles. I am a retired educator - teacher and school administrator. I want you to know that not everybody learns the same. Some people will take the information I am going to give you tonight and will be ready to take the technician test in three or four days. Other folks might take three or four weeks. If it takes you three weeks and it takes the other guys three days, no big deal. Everybody learns different. Don't compare yourself with anyone else, we are all different. Okay. So much for that.

The first level of ham radio is the technician. Of the three tests, it is the easiest with each test getting progressively more difficult. I'm going to give you two band charts. One is from ICOM, and the other is from ARRL. On both of these charts, you will notice old licesnse names. They mean nothing to you or me. But you will notice places where the technician can transmit and receive, which is mostly 2 meter and up. You say what does that mean? When you look at the charts, it will become apparent. There is a small portion of the 10 meter band that the technician can talk on, which in the ham world is called phone. 

Another topic. Both of these charts are very informative. I prefer to use the ICOM chart for my frequency needs. The ICOM chart, just by looking at it, will provide a number of answers for questions on the technician's test, which, by the way, is the only test we are going to talk about today.

Probably the most useful website you can go to is the ARRL website. Play around in here and it will give you information about many things that

we are going to discuss right now. When you decide to take your test, you will need to contact an ARRL local club. This can be done through this page. You will need the town you live in or the closest town to you. Most of these clubs have websites and contact information. Not only can they tell you when the test date is, they'll also be happy to invite you to any club meeting they have. Someone there will be happy to walk you through the world of ham radio.

This next site will take you to information about how to get your technician's license. It's just more information. You notice these sites are all part of ARRL. This is a very handy webpage to use.

The next site I am going to take you to is the FCC regulations page for ham radio. These are all of the rules, right here. You've heard me joke about your third cousin, Bubba? Here are the rules. There are really not very many of them. But, again, these are the rules. When in doubt, pull up this site.



Okay. I'm going to give you a couple of sites that will provide you with free practice tests. The first one is QRZ.com. This is where I used the practice tests to study for my technician's exam. They will ask you to sign in with

your call sign. Well, you don't have one. Pick out a few letters you like. I used my initials for my first, middle and last name followed by the number 1. Then you will need to provide a password. Try to make it one that you can remember. Once in this site, go to the tab across the top that says resources. The first selection is 'practice amateur radio exams'. From here, you should be able to figure out the rest of it. These are free practice tests, and like I said earlier, this is the site I used to practice for my technician exam. 

The next practice test site is called Ham Test Online. This is the site I used to get my general license which is the next license after the technician.

This is not a free site, but my wife and I found that the general class was a little more difficult than the technician, and we liked the format that these folks use. This site also has a free trial period. If you like their style and you like the way things are laid out and you want to use this for your technician's license, go ahead. It is not free, but I used it and I would recommend it. 

Next on the list is HamStudy.org. This is a free practice test site. This is the site my wife chose to use for her technician practice tests. Remember, different folks have different learning styles. I like the first one I used and she liked this one. You will need to come up with a username and password, but you should be able to do that. 

Next are the No Nonsense Study Guides. This is another cool site with a lot of information. All of the sites above also have a lot of cool information. Don't be afraid to play around in them. But this site will actually give you something that you can print out or use in pdf form. It puts the questions and answers into a textbook style format. Click on the toolbar where it says 'No Nonsense Study Guides' and open the one that says Technician Class. You'll notice that there are three or four different versions. I used the free version pdf file. This is free and it is a great way to study for the test. On

about page six or seven you will see where it deals with a couple of formulas. Play with these formulas a little bit and you will see that they are actually quite easy. If you have trouble with the formulas, we will talk about them in more detail in the very near future. Don't be overwhelmed by the math. It is a small, small portion of the test. Again, don't worry about the math. The technician's test will have 35 questions out of a question pool of 396 and you will need to get 26 correct to pass. Don't worry about the math. 

Another example of learning styles. My wife, or YL in ham language, got her ham radio licenses just so we could do it together. Her level of operation is push the on button, pick up the microphone, click the button and talk. She knows little to nothing about antennas, coax, frequencies or modulation, but she does know how to push the button and talk into the microphone. Correction. She also knows how to change the channel.

You ask, how did she pass the technician and the general test? She took the practice tests, over and over and over and over until she memorized the answers. Well, some people might say, that's not right. She doesn't understand ham radio. Who cares! She met the requirements, she passed the tests and now she has her technician and general licenses. I, on the other hand, memorized many of the answers, but I needed to know more about the radio and it's overall operation. A side note here - she scored better on both tests than I did. So, each to their own. Whatever works for you. You have multiple choices here and most of them are free. 

If you want to know more about the details of how radio waves work, the ARRL site above has a plethora of information and books that they will be glad to sell you. Or, get in touch with a local ham club and they will be happy to assist you. The testing fee is normally $15.00. The testing has to be done in person. If you have handicaps or special needs, let the folks know at the testing site and they will accommodate your needs. By the way, if you want to take the technician and the general on the same day, if you pass the first test, the second test is at no additional cost, as is the third test for the extra if you pass the general. If you do not pass the first test, you can take it again, same day, same place, but it will cost you $15.00 more.

One last thing. Always think safety.

We'll talk more later. 73, Frank